A 59-year-old nurse from Potchefstroom Hospital is one of the latest 15 confirmed COVID-19 cases in J.B. Marks municipality

The nurse tested positive on Saturday, 23 May, and was working at the outpatient department of the hospital. The department has since been closed and was decontaminated on Sunday. It will remain closed for two days whilst appointments will be rescheduled.

The contact list of the nurse includes 67 patients, 18 staff members, and one family member.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the North West Province is 94. So far there have been 29 recoveries and one death. The North West contributes only 0.4 percent to South Africa’s Covid-19 statistics.

According to the spokesperson of North West Health, Tebogo Lekgethwane there has been an increase in cases in Dr. Kenneth Kaunda (Potchefstroom/Ventersdorp/Klerksdorp) and Ngaka Modiri Molema (Mahikeng/Ditsobotla/Ratlou) districts in the past week.

Most of the instances in Potchefstroom are connected to the nurse from Promosa Clinic who tested positive on Wednesday, 6 May. She had been on leave since 22 April and only went back to work on Tuesday, 5 May. She was tested on Wednesday, after showing symptoms. After her test was confirmed as positive, the clinic was closed for disinfection. It opened recently on Friday, 22 May.

The first Covid-19 death was reported on Monday, 11 May. The deceased was a 52-year-old male from Rustenburg who had suffered from respiratory distress, hypertension, diabetes, and a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The total number of screenings in North West is 2,073,672. A total of 984 contacts of the 72 confirmed cases were identified and 94 percent have been successfully traced.

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Nurse at Potchefstroom Hospital tested positive for COVID-19